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get advice from the people who share your values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. at the top of the show we asked why are you awake? seems people are focused on bill karins failure to get through the weather without saying the "s" word. wow. valiant effort by bill karins not to say the "s" word is not so successful. "morning joe" starts right now.

♪ >> we don't take ours too seriously. we have a lot of guys on the team that are characters. knowing who we are, we are gcsu. hopefully, by now they are learning those initials. >> yep. every day. >> welcome to "morning joe." boy, that's a long way from ft. myers, florida. a live picture now of washington, d.c. the snow coming down over the united states capitol. monday, march 25th good morning. with us on the set no snow yet, msnbc contributor mike barnicle and mark halpern. former adviser to president george w. bush, dan senor. and the reverend al sharpton. >> looking sharp. >> he is double breasted today. boy, he looks good. >> almost double overload. >> wet to that in a second.

down in washington, kelly o'donnell. how was the commute coming in this morning? >> it was nasty and truth be told, i have my snow boots on under the desk. >> are they uggs? >> they are. i would kick up my leg but that might be too much for the show. >> we have a lot of to talk about. the basketball team florida gulf coast university. a great story there, the coach there, andy enfield. the first 15 seed to advance to the sweet 16 and playing without fear against georgetown and last night against san diego state and they look like the favorite in both of those games the way they played. >> and enfield is clearly a coach who is a good coach but he doesn't take himself too seriously. the team is playing very light. under very little pressure. they were never expected to be there. he is not overcoaching them and

an engaging guy. apparently from everything you read, he has a story for every game, every situation that has very little to do with basketball! >> terrific stuff. >> he played basketball at johns hopkins and went into the business world and had a lot of success there and got himself into coaching and start this little school that wasn't eligible for post division play until a year and a half ago. >> the school is five miles from the red sox ballpark in ft. myers. >> is how you know it? >> i go past it on the way to the ballpark. beautiful campus on the ft. myers line and next to a great outlet place where they have every outlet store you could think of. >> that is why you go to spring training is for the outlet mall. then you see the university. >> the discount socks. >> mike takes you a layer deeper into the story. >> much more than you need to know. >> the outlet store. >> so if you had florida gulf coast state university, if you

had wichita state, lasalle in the sweet 16 you air brilliant man and probably a liar! >> before we launch into this epic chapter of "morning joe," can you drive this thing? you have been gone a while. >> i've been out for a week and i think i got it under control. >> at ski school? >> ski school. dan and i were talking about it. you put a 5-year-old and 3-year-old into ski school. first day they cry because they don't want to go and the last day, four days later, they cry because they don't want to leave and what parent is about. a good moment. >> give me an update on lucy and george on the slope. >> george, his body lean leaves a bit to be desired. he comes like this and falls backward every time. over the course of the week, he got better. lucy, take her up on the six-person lift and coming down the slopes as dan can understand, by hearses over the course of three days. >> my 5-year-old is cruising hard blues and he believes that the reason you go skiing down the hill, down the mountain is so you can go up on the

chairlift. skiing is about the chairlift! >> right. it is not about going down the mountain. the mountain is a means to the end. >> alex just told me in the control room that lucy and george's initial experience on the ski slopes were much like mine when i come here. i cry every time i come here before i go. >> but you don't have the other crying because you have to leave. let's get to the news, reverend al sharpton, unless you'd like to share a skiing story from the weekend. >> i don't have many skiing stories. i was trying to think of one but i really don't. i might have picketed in a ski lodge once. >> with, that let's get into the news. >> in the white mountains. >> right. the country's ongoing debate over gun safety. harry reid will bring the senate's proposal to the floor and include votes on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. yesterday, new york city mayor

mike bloomberg optimistic about the vote during an appearance on "meet the press." >> we are going to have a vote, for sure, on assault weapons and we are going to have a vote on background checks and if we were to get background checks only, it wouldn't be as good as if we got both, but look. we demanded a plan and then we demanded a vote. we have got the plan and we are going to get the vote. >> the mayor announced a new $12 million ad campaign that will challenge senators in 13 states from arizona to pennsylvania to back gun control legislation. >> for me, guns are for hunting and protecting my family. i believe in the second amendment and i'll fight to protect it. but with rights, come responsibilities. that's why i support xren hencive background so the criminals and mentally dangerously ill can't get guns and that protects my rights and

family. >> he's going to find out this is a country of the people by the people and for the people. and he can't spend enough of his 27 billion dollars to try to impose his will on the american public. they don't want him in their restaurants. they don't him in their homes. they don't want him telling them what food to eat and sure don't want him to tell him what sel self-defense firearms to buy. he is so reckless on this whole gun issue. we have people all over, millions of people sending us five, ten, 15, 20 dollar checks saying, stands up to this guy that says we can only have three bullets, which is what he said. stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things like the nra wants firearms with nukes on them. it's insane. >> after weeks of bipartisan negotiations between chuck schumer and tom colburn fail to

advance and john mccain is emerging as a critical player in talks to expand background checks. susan collins and dean heller could fine off on the bill after the democrats included several modifications aimed at attracting support electric the right. a recent quinnipiac poll finds the majority are in favor of background checks. senate majority leader reid said we will not include it in the package. he doesn't believe an assault weapons ban will get through. are you with what might get through? >> i would have kept the assault weapons ban in. >> you would have? >> i disagree with senator reid. i think he should have made them vote on the record but, having said that, they can vote in a side of a piece of legislation. i think that it is insane for the nra's lapierre to talk about

bloomberg buying the values of the country, when the polls say, almost 90% of the country already supports universal background check. i think what he is really concerned about is for the first time you have people on the other side that are well-funded. the gun manufacturers have been funding the nra and now you have an even playing field and he just seems rattled and doesn't know what to do because there is no poll, including the enter's internal polling, i'm sure that says the americans don't want universal background checks so he has lost that one. i think they are targeting on bloomberg. targeting some of the senators and putting ads there, it evens the playing field in this argument and i think it will pass and i think it's a good thing. >> it's worth pointing out as long as we are talking about money the nra spent $32 million in political money in 2012. >> and a lot of it from gun

manufacturers. not five and ten dollars from grandma nanny that wants more than three bullets. that's a lot of hog wash. >> kelly o'donnell you look at the votes down there in washington, senate majority leader reid counted votes himself. if we are talking about the bill first and amendments to it as well, what is likely to pass. >> the amendments are key because that is where you're going to get the chance for people to be on the record with an assault records ban. in counting the votes, harry reid knows if that were part of the essential bill, be in much bigger trouble. what people are talking are the trafficking elements of this make it a federal crime to move guns unlawfully against state line and changing things on books there. something people will talk about as a success if that gets through. so much focus on background checks. one of the big questions from people who are still hesitant about that is what would it actually do in a practical sense if you've got a neighbor-to-neighbor selling a weapon or a family member to

another and how would that work in practical terms. the idea of background checks has broiad support but it gets down to the specifics. watch for the senators from red states up for re-election and the pressure is greatest on them. they are away two weeks now from washington, back home, and there will be pressure on them. they will hear from their constituents about what to do from this. if you don't have much support, if any, among republicans, you need those democrats to get it through. >> hey, mark, give me a sense of harry reid's role in this. he wants to keep that title senate majority leader. navigating through these ice floes of this. >> it's already on the side of those who would like to see a large package, including a pretty big risk background check

provision. it's not clear to me what more opponents can be to put pressure on senator reid. senator reid has a long history with the nra. they did not support him in his re-election race and i think he is looking for a path that not only protects his own views on gun control and not only tries to accommodate the white house but try to protect the majority. i think he is very stensive not just on guns but a range of issues too. all of these democrats are up in red states where dan's colleagues and friends winning back the senate majority is probably the biggest thing they have going right now. >> your colleagues and friends? >> it's not just on gun control. look at louisiana, mark pryer in arkansas and louisiana, mary landrieu. a number of these bills, gun control. watch for i mmigration reform. they are under a lot of pressure to buck their own party in

pursuit of keeping the democratic senate majority. i think senator reid is not only looking out for his own relationship with the nra and gun rights community in nevada but what he needs to do to protect these candidates, these senators up for re-election so he can preserve the senate majority. it's not just his own personal political situation he is protecting but also making the case, i suspect, to his friends and allies, if we want to keep the senate majority we cannot put a lot of pressure on our n own, particularly the senators up for re-election in red states. >> how much concern among gun control advocates that this new to town moment. some people thought in the wake of this incident this is the one that will change everything. it appears now unless something changes on the assault weapons ban that even newtown won't be able to get america to a weapons ban. >> when you look at newtown, when you look at the deaths in

chicago alone, if we can't do it at this moment, there is a real sense that it won't be done. so it seized the time right now and get as much done in terms of gun control and many of us have been ab vo indicating for years right now while the attention is there and you have such overwhelming public support. the only thing that i would hasten to add to what was said, i would want senator reid to be very careful on the changing demographics in some of those states. we learned from last year's elections that a decade ago, two decades ago is no longer what some of those states in terms of the electorate has become. and i think you could galvanize your vote if you took some stands in some of those states. i agree with you on louisiana. but some of those states are beginning to shift and some of the democrats that are using caution may put themselves in danger of their own base if they

are too cautious. >> i would just add i think you're right if you want to advance the gun control legislation that's being advocated to welcome mayor bloomberg's funding. i have a lot of respect for him on a number of issues including local issues but i'm not sure he is the right spokesman for this. he is galvanizing the second amendment rights community in a number of these red states. the fact he has put himself as the face of this big city, blue state mayor is telling these senators in red states what they should be doing i think is not sk constructive. >> he is providing the right microphone because he is evening the playing field. it's hard to tell a guy to provide the microphone. he has certainly provided a microphone that gun control advocates have not had in past.

i agree we could have different spokes people. >> like who? let's get down to it. mike bloomberg, mayor of new york city. is there a level of antisemitism in this thing directed toward bloomberg. >> no doubt about it. >> it's out there. >> i don't think it's anti-semitism. i think the perception of big city, urban elites, wealthy elites, telling the rest of the little people how to live their lives. >> big city jewish man from another ethnic group in some parts i think would be different. i think at the end of the day if we had like a law enforcement person or former law enforcement person, or someone like that as the national face of it, it would make it easier in some of the areas or some of the states you're talking about. but i don't think bloomberg -- >> gabby giffords is participating and give a different experience. they examine at it a different

way and have their own group that doesn't have the funding that bloomberg has but they have a personal touch. pretty prominent law enforcement people have come forward. i get the point about the big city divide because one of the things we hear a lot from members who live in rural states and states with duplicate roots in the hunting and sportsman community and they don't see the world in the same way a big city mayor might and they have to really deal with the issue there are many gun owners in their states who say, hey, i'm a responsible person and i wouldn't do those things and don't restrict rights they believe are their own. it gets very, very personal. when you look at a mark pryor of arkansas he saw the last go down to defeat it is real. he has a narrow piece to make sure somebody has been found in a courtroom to be found mentally ill, to make sure that the reporting is better than it is today. so he has found a narrow slice

of it where he can support it with some others who are in both parties to try to be on the side of doing something they think will make things better but also very clearly mark pryor says can't do an assault weapons ban isn't supporting of weapons, ammuniti ammunition limitations. you have the same democrats we are talking about who voted against the budget the other night. they are really at the center of these issues which will divide not only the race going forward but some of these big social issues we have been talking about, immigration and guns and what to do about the deficit. >> don't forget two other prominent spokes people, the president and vice president. they care a lot about it and have been quiet of late. i expect to see a big push between of two of them before the vote. >> the lack of courage in the united states is asstountounast.

>> it's amazing. >> no one is coming to take your gun. no one is coming to take your gun. >> it's amazing. it's amazing. when you look at the fact that we are talking about a simple thing like background checks. people are dying every day. a baby killed in -- >> in pennsylvania. >> in brunswick, georgia. we are arguing about background checks is almost ununbelievable. surreal. >> background checks have 90% of support among the american people last check. senator bob casey of pennsylvania will join us on the set coming up and leigh gallagher and representative rick mulvaney will weigh in. our good friend michael hainey will have a preview of the "gq" magazine. bill karins, what is up? >> schoolhouse are cancelled around baltimore and washington, d.c. a lot of delays.

the snow is coming down hard and it's accumulating quickly. temperatures unlike the storm we had on march 6th, these temperatures are colder. 34 at the airport in downtown near d.c. so, in other words, the snow is sticking more than last time. the blue on this map inside of the white is the heavy snow, the white is the lighter snow. notice the heaviest almost all of maryland around the d.c. area and southern portions of pennsylvania from harrisburg and approaching the philadelphia area too. so just be careful driving in those areas, especially. that's where we have seen recently the heaviest snow. overnight it snowed pretty good around cleveland and central and northern indiana. also watching snow totals of 6 to 12 inches across much of illinois too and finally stopped snowing in st. louis who picked up a foot of snow total. that's the biggest snowstorm in st. louis in 30 years. this has been one of those off the chart late season snowstorms

from denver to kansas city. the last leg of the journey is today in the mid-atlantic. only expecting as much as 3 inches total in d.c. the roads should be slushy and grass surfaces about 3 inches. philadelphia around an inch. not expecting much in new york city. a little bit too warm the storm misses new york city to the south. southern new england you may see snowflakes but nothing like they are getting at the white house and the capitol. good chance of 3 inches snow before it's done in washington, d.c. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. ♪

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♪ welcome back to "morning joe." 6:24 in the morning here in new york city. let's get a look at some of the morning papers. star leather in newark. powerball officials say one lucky winning ticket from saturday nice's 338 million

dollar drawing and reportedly was sold in new jersey but so far no one has claimed the prize. the jackpot is said to be the fourth largest in powerball history and if he or she opts for the lump sum take home 230 million. new jersey governor chris christie will announce state takeover of camden schools. he will appoint a leadership team with the task of turning around one of new jersey's lowest performing school districts. >> dead russian tycoon found dead. british police say evidence not killed by any radioactive material but police classifying his death as uncomplained. >> nothing to see here.

move along. >> "the kansas city star." department of homeland security estimates they will need up to 600 new recruits and they are looking at high school students to fill the void. >> pervez musharraf faces allegations he failed to provide enough security to prevent the assassination of bhutto. mike and allen is with us and he has a look at the playbook. let's talk supreme court. pivotal arguments heard this week as the justices take up two key cases involving gay marriage. one will be heard on tuesday and domo case on wednesday. walk through what we will see

this week and what sat stake. >> the big question for the supreme court are they going to do something narrow or very big. in the first case could only apply to california or something very keeping and historic that comes out of it. tidbit that popped up in the l.a. times chief justice roberts has a gay cousin who is a lesbian who is going to be in the courtroom listening to the arguments with her long time partner. they eventually want to get married. we saw this last week with former secretary of state hillary clinton getting on the right side of history in her view and the view of her party coming up with a video changing the clinton view on doma and in the republican party, we're hearing from all across the spectrum that regardless of what

the supreme court does the party needs to have a more libertarian view on this. republicans are telling us it would be a huge help with fund-raising especially in the big states of new york, california, and florida. if the republican party were to be more open on this. and people are telling us that investors don't want to invest what they think losing national elections which could continue to be the case if republicans stay very narrow on this issue. republicans i talked to even extremely conservative ones, very christian conservative republicans are telling me the polls they have seen in the last couple of weeks have been eye-opening, showing not only that young people very heavily in favor of gay marriage, but if you extrapolate that a little bit in just 10, 20 years, this is going to be 70/30 issue that republicans are going to be quickly going to be on the wrong side of. >> to your point, mike, looking at a graphic.

"the washington post"/abc recent poll ages 18 to 3970% believe same-sex marriage should be legal. we will see what supreme court does this week. as you said, tuesday on prop 8 and wednesday with the defense of marriage act. mike, ask you about a piece you have up about paul ryan. you say it's paul ryan's disappearing act. his stock could not have shot up much higher when he was chosen as mitt romney's running mate and now out of the spotlight. >> this story quotes dan senor. for someone who was the nominee, as the story says, the "it" boy, younger face of the republican party, paul ryan has perhaps deliberately been out of the national plilt conversation because he has a busy day job. not only is he chairman of the budget committee with a huge job

but been a wing man to speaker boehner even though not a formal member of the top part of membership. ryan has consulted on everything that matters. and has become the tea party whisperer for leadership and the person conservatives trust and he tries to market leadership packages to the conservatives. >> i guess disappearing so far, he hasn't been out nationally as much as he was but not disappearing behind the scenes. >> tuesday night he was told he would not be vice president and wednesday morning, john boehner called him up and said i need you in the middle of the washington. there is no precedent for something coming off a national ticket and going right back into congress within days into a central role as he has. as mike and jonathan says in the article he is in charge of putting together the congressional budget plan. there is no precedent for something off that ticket and

thrust into governing responsibility. the balance he has to strike is doing his demanding day job and maintaining his options in the event he wants to run for president and a difficult balance to strike. >> you know him well. do you sense he aspires to more nationally? did he get a taste for president politics the last time around? >> i don't want to speak for him but i think he continues to have a taste and ambition to have a big impact on some of these issues he cares about nationally. he's a number of ways he can do it punish. mark leibovich wrote that article. paul ryan can't lose. meaning he could run for president if he stays in congress, he'll be chairman of ways and means committee and some talk about him playing a more prominent role in leadership so he has to decide where he can make his mark. no one i believe has done more to advance the conservative policy agenda in terms of where he has moved through republican

congress the last for a years. >> mark, he's a young man, in his early 40s. he has a lot of politics ahead of him. what do you suspect he does. >> if he decides to run with the exception of jeb bush no one would start with such a big foundation. paul ryan even before he was on the ticket had such good will amongst so many constituents. the fact he is a policy person really we often think of our political culture superficial and does help him. what the party needs now to come back is somebody who understands policy and he does. i think he can bite his time. no rush not just to run down the road but he has plenty of time because of the strengths he has with different constituencies including donors. >> rev sharpton is nodding. >> i'm clearly on the other side of him on policy and politics, but after watching him in the

debates, does know how to drink water better than rubio does. >> come on. come on. mike allen, thanks for a look at the playbook. the 15th seed florida gulf coast knock off san diego state. they are the darlings of this tournament and blew up the brackets on friday against georgetown. we will break down that historic role when brian joins us next. ♪ many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors? it's post shredded wheat. recommended by nine out of ten doctors to help reduce the risk of heart disease. post shredded wheat is made with only one ingredient: one hundred percent whole grain wheat, with no added sugar or salt. try adding fruit for more health benefits and more taste in your bowl. it's the ideal way to start your heart healthy day. try post shredded wheat. this has been medifacts for post shredded wheat.

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now. cnbc brian shactman here to help us through the big dance. you had all three of these? >> i'm in huge trouble. a great story. and enfield 150,000 is his salary. billy donovan against him in florida 3.5 million. the guy is the new superstar in college coaching. >> and near the outlet stores. >> his map of life. where is anything relative to the outlet stores? >> let's watch that team near the outlets in ft. myers. 15 seed florida gulf coast taking on san diego state in

round of 32. fielor drives and throws it down. they guys can play. eagles trailing by one point. second half they pull away a little bit. comer with the dish. eagles alley-oop there and exclamation point there. they get three seed florida on florida which seems daunting but have already taken down georgetown. game tied at 74, tyrone garland gets a tough layup to go. lasalle takes the lead 2.5 left. ole miss tries for a little buzzer-beater will you it will not go. yes, lasalle wins 76-74 and they go to the sweet 16 to take on another underdog, wichita state. miami taking on illinois.

3:50 to go. brandon paul to the rack. illini two-point lead. miami, though, down one. over a minute left. shane larkin, the acc player of the year, a step-back three. that is pretty. hurricanes hang on to win 63-59. they go to the sweet 16. >> barry larkin's son. how is your bracket? >> i didn't even do one. it would have been pointless at this point. i mean, you still have kansas. you still have indiana. you still have arizona, ohio state, louisville. there are still big guns that may end up there but in terms it of winning a bracket, the three teams we just talked about killed you. there it is right there. >> i'm still alive. >> the top seed indiana surviving a huge scare against nine seed temple. 14 seconds left, this gave the hoosiers a little comfortable margin. they win 58-52 and they get syracuse next in the tweet 16. first buzzer-beater of the

tournament. ohio state craft waves off the pick and says i'm going one-on-one and hits the three with 2.7 left and gives ohio state a three-point victory over iowa state. the buckeyes get arizona in the sweet 16. brian, you got any predictions now we have shaken out? the first week is over. >> by the way, i want to mention that barnicle only asked you about your bracket because he wanted you to ask you about his. >> i'm looking good. >> talk to me your final four. >> indiana, ohio state, louisville, florida. and i have indiana beating louisville. >> you're still in good shape. >> i have louisville winning the whole thing which is a chockup. not a big deal. the team i like, i think miami could do a lot of damage. florida just has a lot of power in this tournament right now. indiana and ohio state, i don't know. i think arizona lute olsen days.

i think they will probably lose to ohio state. >> michigan looking good too. tiger woods has to wait until this morning to see if he regains his world number one rank. a tornado warning in orlando postponed most of the arnold palmer invitational until today. tiger got in a couple of holes before the rain came. he has a three-stroke lead and he will get back to the number one for the first time since 2010 if he can hold on and win that tournament today. not everyone played as well as tiger. sergio garcia was in a tree rescuing a tee shot. it landed up in a tree and he climbed a tree and knocked it back onto the fairway and jumped out of the tree one-handed backwards putting himself back in play. he withdrew from the tournament later in the day citing a sore left shoulder and achilles tendon. >> i usually leave it up in the tree! >> do you? man, what i would give to see

you climb up in a tree to get your out of there. >> it was disappointing because i wanted to see the tv ratings between tiger woods on a sunday going against nascar and ncaa and nice to see iffing tiger c back make is a difference in the tv rating. >> with tiger playing the way he is playing, he'll be the favorite coming in. coming up, more "morning joe." this is so sick!

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pages. start with the "the washington post" kathleen parker hillary clinton time, question mark, whether to run again for the highest office is surely on hillary's mind. her inevitablity is legend. the wife of bill clinton was bound for her glory in her own time and then came the most unexpected thing of all this man obama. he descended from a distant star to blind the masses with his light and it was greater than hers so once again, hillary had to wait. will she go for it again or is it her fate to fade into the pages of missed opportunity, bad timing and wrbroken promises? what do you think, reverend sharpton? >> she has to be thinking this is something i've dreamed of to be the first woman president and has to be my shot, but she also has to say look what happened last time.

something totally unseen, barack obama came about. can that happen again? she also has to look at what does biden do. most people feel he won't run if she does. you don't know. what about andrew cuomo do? dan can say many of her people that would do the work, you are talking about where the players 20 years ago during the clinton years you have eight years of obama, new leadership around the country that don't have the same affection for the clintons that her school or her age class does, how does she get them enthusiastic enough to face a republican opponent if they can come up with a formidable one. she has a lot to weigh. i think she can make the right decision but it's not a slam dunk decision. >> kelly, what is the sense in washington? the clintons, either president clinton or secretary of state hillary clinton have been on the

scene every day there for two decades and now they are gone for a moment. what is the sense, the video av? >> i think her making this decision i think you'd see a new generation of democrats who would flood to the possibility of that first woman in the white house. i think that is something that would awaken a lot of enthusiasm and even possibly some of those sort of suburban republican women who would be open to looking at her as a possible candidate. i think reverend sharpton's point is strong about the idea that talent that was around them many of those folks have moved on to the private sector doing other things and not necessarily in government but it would not be that hard for her to really create an excitement. when you look at other women who might be in the pipeline so to speak, governors or those in the senate it's harder to see someone who has got the breadth of experience hillary clinton has being a likely nominee right now. over time that begins to change

but i think there would be a lot of interest in her. one of the big decisions has to be that notion of if it didn't work this time, she probably wouldn't have the second act that she had being secretary of state which did so much to elevate her standing in the world and her popularity. what a tough call to make. what a tough call. >> let's look at our second must read. fred hyatt writing in "the washington post" polls show americans want deficit reduction but oppose almost over policy would achieve it. explaining the right pathology is challenging and why a second-term president who gets the problem and can explain it could make a difference. there is no guarantee obama would succeed but if he did he could be remembered as the president who put the nation on a path to healthy growth. if he doesn't try he can be remembered while the nation gradually declines as a president who was somewhat more

responsible than mitch mcconnell. we have heard this criticism, dan, from the republicans before the president needs to show leadership on that issue. what does that mean? >> lead the discussion. the allow the dinner that the president had with a group of senator republicans a couple of weeks ago a lot of positive came out of it and some said they felt the president was serious getting somewhere in the middle. the key question is not could he ever get on board with not just changing cpi but also dealing with premium support or raising the retirement age, the eligibility. the real question is can lead the discussion? is he willing to use -- only he can use the bully pulpit to go before the american people and explain our entitlement system is nearly insolvent, the country has to reform or otherwise we will become one national

retirement unit. >> what is your definition of going to the middle? >> look. i think some sort of increase in eligibility, two, premium support, three, change cpi. change cpi is not only going to do it. >> that is like in the middle of the seniors of this country's head. the middle of -- between my eyes in the opinion of some. that's not exactly middle. i think that is part of the problem. that when we talk about him leading the discussion, we really want him to say what they once said. i think the president has laid out a clear program. he has also met with ryan and others. i think they confuse having a discussion saying what they want to hear. i think there is going to have to be a middle ground that is really middle, not all my way. >> do you think the system is heading for insolvency? 8,000 people going on medicare a day? the speed with which health care

inflation is skyrocketing? do you think the system is about to overheat? >> the question is, dan, are we in a situation where we have to deal with deficit reduction tomorrow or whether we can deal with it on a basis of we can get there as we deal with stimulating the economy and bringing revenue back into the economy and deal with deficit rededuction at the same time. the aus ter citerity. >> it's for the austerity. >> if you do not get ahead of this problem, this entitlement crisis, this brewing entitlement crisis, we have time. we have time to get ahead of it now. if you look what happened in europe awe -- asaying your benefits are being cut tomorrow. >> but you've got to --

>> let me finish the point! not five or ten years from now, next month, your benefit is get slashed. if you do not get ahead of this that is what awe sistusterity l like now. >> i think what is he saying, though, if you stimulate the economy and provide jobs and infrastructure it will put resources into the system because you will be creating taxpayers and you'll be making it more solvent to deal with these problems. i think that is where the disagreement is. >> i had a really inciteful question about lowering the retirement age. >> kelly, thank you. bring you back in the next hour. >> good to see you. >> explain this "star trek" parody created by the irs and paid for with taxpayer money. i'm not quite sure i get this

one. senator bob casey and "fortune" magazine's leigh gallagher with us. we will be right back. come on, nowadays lots of people go by themselves.

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coming up next on "morning joe," secretary of state john kerry lands in afghanistan to sit down with hamid karzai.

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editing manager, leigh gallagher and captain wes moore. >> good to see you. >> developing news coming into msnbc. secretary of state john kerry has landed in kabul, afghanistan, on an unannounced trip and set to hold talks with hamid ckarzai with whom relationships have been strained. over the weekend, secretary kerry made an unannounced visit to iraq visiting with maliki to stop fighters. >> we had a very spirited discussion on the subject of the over flights. anything that supports president assad is problematic and i made it very clear to the prime

minister that the over flights in iran are, in fact, helping to sustain president assad and his regi regime. >> customer reported he left the meeting without reaching an agreement with maliki. those oppose to assad's government is trying to maintain a coalition after the backed opposition resigned. with the help of the cia, arab nations in turkey have sharply stepped up aid to the rebels. there is a troublesome straight line from afghanistan, where the secretary of state is this morning, through iran, through iraq, and into syria. >> i think the people who also have noticed this are the afghan leadersh leadership. so it's interesting. you have secretary hagel who does a visit. secretary kerry now doing the visit. the president hasn't been to afghanistan in a year now and

other things taking his attention in the region whether iran and rising tensions with syria and economic challenges in jordan, et cetera. they are watching this stuff happen around them and hearing about a rapid redeployment schedule of forces taking place in afghanistan. the people have taken notice of the amount of activity in a straight line you're talking about are the afghan government who are are now trying to figure out what does this country and government look like? not just five years from now. we are talking six months from now, a year from now. >> you spent a considerable portion of your young life in baghdad at the inception of the war. baghdad today, in your mind, from people you've spoken to about baghdad today, give me a measurement of baghdad today. >> look. it's a lot better than when i left there. keep in mind the period between 2004 to 2006 was really on the cusp of civil war. the blood letting was almost

uncontrollable. compared to then it's calm and people returning to normalcy but what is the violence is ticking up and with the almost zero presence of the u.s. forces in iraq. so you have maliki, shiite making a play and punishing and taking up vendettas against sunni political leaders. sunnis have resigned from the cabinets. signs we saw in 2003 and 2004 rearing their head there. contrary said the iraqi government is being cooperative in stopping overflights to syria but the iraqi government today, the shiite government views iran as a more reliable partner than the united states so they will be more cooperative with iran. what maliki is worried about is some sort of sunni uprising in

iraq. he looks what is happening in syria. that uprising against assad is later largely sunni. it is going to inflame the sunnis in iraq which is the last thing maliki wants. he wants assad to survive. you have many of the same sectarian underpinnings that were the ingredients of the last sectarian tension coming back to life. >> why is the relationship with. >> maliki feels under siege. we had leverage when we said we will help stabilize this country even though the war is over. we will maintain security forces to help with training, help with counterterrorism and her play a sort of back inderal to the forces. 10,000 troops and gave us

leverage. if he is not there and we are feeling under siege the only people sending in forces and money is the iranian gochlt. >> government. >> is he worried about a coup? >> he is worried about partially sunni driven from 2006 and that is a threat to the shiite control of the iraqi government. >> is he worried about people are going to march into his office and say you're no longer in charge? >> i think he is partially politically but more concerned what is looking throughout the region. the arab spring. when you have the sectarian elements there it makes it it much more of a powder keg and we have seen it bubble up along sectarian lines in the past and he is worried about tearing the country apart and his government. >> i think it goes back to the whole analogy that all politics are local and the difficulty of making any kind of politics with nationalized ambitions inside the region. when you look at the

sectarianism and tribalism that exist within the area so much comes down to regional stability and personal ambitions and i think you're seeing the same thing in iraq and afghanistan. it's about positioning and survival. i think -- what is happening with jordan. the reason syria has become such a big deal inside the region isn't just because of the h humanitarian atrocities taking place but the refugees are flooding into jordan and all of this stuff is very local. >> let me ask you a question and pretend you have the two bars still on your shoulder. how would you have liked to lost several members of your platoon and squad in iraq and baghdad and anbar province, wherever? and, today, see the fact that baghdad has a closer relationship with tehran than

the united states? >> the same thing i felt last week when i think about the soldiers we lost in ofg and hear president karzai make comments like when secretary hagel was there. how the united states is coordinating with the taliban. the same people who we were fighting and lost people for and now supposedly coordinating with the president of afghanistan. where it compounds is what is then happening to all of the soldiers and airmen and marines when they come back home. breaking news of the chief of staff of the v.a. is going to resign and why it's such a big deal and look at these issues is as they are watching these things take place and watch the shifts with baghdad and kabul and all of these other places then to come back home and have a backlog of 600 days to get any type of v.a. treatment is

something that it's honestly it's something the v.a. community is not only up in arms about but deservedly so up in arms about. >> leigh, we talked about this at several points last week on the tenth anniversary of the invasion of iraq last week. when we talk about the growing budget deficit, the fact that the generational factor of paying for people with, you know, tbi, people who are going -- veterans have to be treated, it's life expectancy. it's 30, 40, 50 years we will be paying for this. >> it's huge and fighting different wars than we used to fight and everything is changing. based on what is happening now to dan's point, the sectarian divides that are happening are threatening to disrupt is not just the regions we mentioned but lebanon and jordan. the crisis in syria is threatening to spill over in every way possible and something to think about as we think about what our role is there. so far the aid we are sending in has been significant but there

are a lot of syrian refugees who are not seeing any of it the way the u.n. rules work. as long as the u.n. is recognizing the assad government that aid is not allowed to go into opposition territory which is where most of the refugees are so a whole calderon of issues. >> changing topics just a bit. some things only happen every four years, presidential elections and olympics and leap years. this weekend the senate did something it hadn't done in more than 1,400 days. they actually passed a budget. the all-night session stretched from thursday night to saturday. keystone lpipeline. they did pass the budget although by a margin of just one vote. >> the average budget resolution considered 78 amendments. we have done 101. the average 35 amendments, we have done 70, twice as many.

doing this has been herculean feat. >> i know everyone is exhausted and you may not feel it at the moment but this is one of the senate's finest days in recent years and i commend everyone who has participated in this extraordinary debate. >> not a single republican supported the plan. one of the finest days in the history of the senate. four democrats each up for re-election almost voted against their party's budget. the plan cuts $1.85 trillion. the house republican budget defeated in the senate would slash $4.6 trillion over ten years without raising taxes. now senator patty murray will work with congressman paul ryan to try and bridge the gap between the two radically different proposals. mark, i think it would have been a public service to the american public to actually point out some of the amendments that they raised in this marathon session

they had over in the senate over the weekend. >> from the sublime to the ridiculous. >> oh, my god. >> but they have a senate budget now and a house budget and i think most people think we are going to plod through this year and not have a big deal unless the president somehow comes back and reengages but a pretty big difference starting with the senate bill has lots of new revenue in it. >> give me an idea. give me an idea of the previews of coming traattractions. >> you have patty murray with her budget and paul ryan with his budget on the other side of the table. >> let's say i think they are far apart which i'm dubious as to where these negotiations will go and it comes back to what we were talking about earlier. where is the president going to wind up and what role will he play to try to have a conversation with the country that could hopefully, inform this negotiation process.

>> do you know off the top of my head, of where paul ryan is? >> i think we have now got a blueprint inside. >> one of the finest days. was it in the history of the senate? >> one of the. >> one of the finest days. >> this is the way it's supposed to happen. a blueprint on one side and the other side and let's start talking and see what kind of, you know, ground we can forge together. rather than lurching from crisis-to-crisis. we have a couple of of those coming up and we are going to hit our borrowing limit in july and we will see what happens between now and then. >> but looking at this, where does all of this fall in the party? you know, in the priority inbox? where is coming up with some type of bargain and some type of deal fall when you have all of these other issues that are now being discussed and debated?

>>ton i don't know. what i'm wondering is why does it take 1,400 days for the democrat to pass a budget in the senate? if your job, you get elected, people give you a job. it's your job to go to washington and come up with a budget and get the government working and continue to work. 1,400 days is a long time to go without working. >> you're old-fashioned. they haven't found it politically necessary and despite pressure some from commentators to come up with one and they have a big problem. we talk about these endangered democrats. they don't want a lot of votes endanger democrats that come up with re-election. they passed it by one vote and lost the vote to four democratic senators in red states who weren't going to vote for a package like that when it's not going to pass as is. >> mark, don't you think, if the president got engaged and led this discussion, he could give some cover to some of these democrats that are feeling vulnerable? >> i think he'll get engaged but now is not the time because it's

not -- no good will come up of. i think he'll engage at the time he can take things back from a regular order. he'll never get a deal in regular order but we have moved along enough in regular order where people in congress can feel like they have played a role in it. >> wes moore and leigh gallagh r gallagher, stay with us. pennsylvania is where mike bloomberg is launching a new ad campaign when it comes to gun legislation. we will ask senator bob casey about his stand when he joins the table and along with former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and the philadelphia phillies. >> past and present and key future of the keystone state. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast and see if he can do the forecast without mentioning the forbidden word, snow. >> it's difficult. the d.c. area is a mess getting numerous reports about what the roads are like on the beltway. slushy out there and getting

estimates they take double the amount of time it would normally take you in the morning for your commute. you can see the white house lawn covered in white this morning of heavy dose of snow -- snow something! came through earlier this morning. about 1 inch reported at the reagan airport and expect 2 to 4 of the floppy stuff in d.c. the worst of it snowing the blue is the heavier coming down. delaware is picking up the white stuff now. southern jersey too and rain among the immediate coast and i think the heaviest is over with and the sun angles it will go through the clouds when the sun is this strong this time of the year. the worst should be on the ground there in d.c. philadelphia, you're next and have to deal with it the rest of the afternoon. cleveland has 1 to 2 inches on the ground morning back to northern indiana. as far as the forecast goes, this is how much of that powdery

sugar stuff you expect on the grass when you're done. it to 4 d.c and new york city i think you're too far north. most of it will stay to your south and probably see a few flakes during the day today. not talking about barnicle but you'll see a few flakes around new york today with only an inch at most, especially the closer you are to the coastal areas. once again, major travel dlas in and around washington, d.c. up to philadelphia this morning on i-95. be careful and give yourself a lot of extra time. looks like january, doesn't it? you're watching "morning joe." ♪ cool to be kind in the right measure ♪ conservative.

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♪ he is going to find out this is a country of the people by the people and for the people. and he can't spend enough of his 27 billion dollars to try to impose his will on the american

you public. they don't want him in their restaurants or in their homes and don't want him telling them what food to eat and he can't buy america. he is so reckless in terms of his comments on this whole gun issue. we have people all over, millions of people sending us five, ten, 15, 20 dollar checks saying stand up to this guy that says we can only have three bullets which is what he said. stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things like the nra wants firearms with nukes on them. it's insane. >> that is wayne lapierre head of the nra. this guy he was referring to is new york mayor mike bloomberg. here with us now is democratic senator from pennsylvania and member of the foreign relations committee, senator bob casey and former governor of pennsylvania, msnbc political analyst and co-chair of fix the debt campaign, governor ed rendell. you guys, pennsylvania. huge state. huge sprawling state.

filled with sports people, hunters, gun owners, the vast majority of them responsible. where are you on what wayne lapierre said? >> well, we have a million hunters in the state. as ed knows, it's a big part of our culture and pennsylvania. after newtown i spent a lot of time thinking what happened there and i made a pretty substantial shift in my position. i think we should have not only a vote but pass some of the measures we have been talking about, the assault weapons ban, the magazine clip legislation, if we can get to that, and the background checks. there could be others but those are the three main ones. even if it's only done by way of amendment when we get to the legislation itself. >> what kind of pressure have you come under since your position has evolved? >> a lot of criticism. but that's -- but also support.

that's the way it is in our state. it's a pretty -- it's a tough issue for people in our state. but i think for me the criticism or the impact of that criticism will come over time. >> you assumed the governorship after having been district attorney in philadelphia and mayor of philadelphia. on any given weekend you could see three to five homicide. >> true. second highest nra of any state in the union is pennsylvania. but bob took a lot of courage and he did it for the right reason and not hurt him at all because wayne lapierre is full of it. it's not mike bloomberg he has to worry about. the american people he has to worry about. 90% on universal background checks. 65% on magazine clips. look. we're going to try to force a vote and even in the house of

representatives, bob knows i've been ridiwriting in the philadea daily news challenging our four suburban republicans and these type of congressman will tell the tale of the tape. i've been challenging them will you sign a discharge vote to get universal background checks and don't you think it's fair to say, bob, they have been hiding? >> did they answer the daily news question? >> they didn't answer. they are for universal background checks maybe but didn't admit to signing a discharge petition. each if the senate gets an up and down vote on these things, what is going to happen in the house? will the house leadership list it? that's the key to me and will it be filibustered in the senate and will pat toomey doesn't vote for closure, there is a lot of

people in pennsylvania who like pat toomey but i don't think will support him the next time around. >> mike, here is the way it hit me and i think it hit everybody this way but just to give you the sense of how i was looking at this. two horrors were kind of haunting mean and i think everybody. one, what happened there when you think exactly what happened really in both classrooms. then at some point, i think sunday night of that weekend, as i watched more and learned more about how he killed his mother, adam lanza killed his mother and went to the classroom and i i think what could have happened and that is not the reality but the potential that he was going to kill -- not a hundred children or 20 children, he was going to try to kill several hundred and would have if he had the time and the capacity. >> go ahead. >> no. >> we often hear politicians

response to the polls that they don't what is right. in this case the polls in a lot of these issues is in support of the positions that you've taken. so what is going on with your colleagues? are they standing on principle against public opinion or are they feeling other pressure? >> no. i think part of it -- you know this. elected officials get in lanes, right? on this issue or one lane or the other. there is really no middle ground even as you try to articulate a middle ground. and i think that is where people are. they just fall into their lanes and they vote the way they vote over time. i do think that this tragedy moved people in a way that was unusual, at least for people i talked to unprecedent. and i think no matter what happens in washington, it will have lasting kind of enduring impact over time. >> senator, what do you say when you're back in your state and irgoing to a town meeting in central pennsylvania or allegheny county and someone

stands up and says, senator, i've seen how you've sort of switched positions on several elements when it comes to guns. i've listened to wayne lapierre. i'm a member of the nra. and obama it is to take my guns away from me. i know that is the end point, he wants to take my guns away from me and i resent you switching positions. >> well, that's -- i'll get a lot of that. look. some people would say where have you been? other tragedies have happened over time and i've been criticized for being -- you know, for having a change of heart maybe too late for some people. and i have to accept that criticism and live with it. but here is what i think most people look at. this isn't a question of taking guns or confiscation. none of these measures would have the impact of in any way taking away someone's right to bear arms to protect themselves, to hunt, or to do anything really. i think most people get that.

but when you have a tradition and sometimes when you have a language that is used by democrats, it can lead people to believe this is a first step. i don't think it is and i think those of us who have the position we do would fight very hard to make sure that it doesn't go in that direction but i think it's time to act. i mean, i'm at the point now when you consider the future and you have to kind of ask yourself what do you do when you had a vote? maybe one vote, maybe only three amendments, but what did you do when you had the vote? you may not have the vote every year. if you take a step now even if it's largely ineffectivive, if you take a step now that could prevent one more newtown ten years from now, 50 years from now, i want to be able to say when i had that vote, i moved in that direction as opposed to staying in the lane i was in. >> the one thing i wanted to add

to what bob said is this idea that none of this stuff works. i heard david brooks on one of the sunday shows saying we should vote for it but what we should do is the law enforcement components, the gun trafficking and he is right, we should do that and part of what bob supports and i support. laufnera ten-clib magazine, only ten people maximum would have gotten killed or injured. he had a 33 bullet clip and managed to injure 12 and killed five. remember he was going to get a second clip when that courageous woman knocked it out of his hands and two guys wrestled him to the ground. if that had happened affair ten clips other people are alive today and other people didn't get their flesh ripped open by guns. it does work. it does work. it limits the carnage. it won't stop the crazy people but limit their capacity to do

harm. >> in colorado last week the governor limited magazine to see 15 rounds. colorado is an interesting state. it's the site of two of the deadliest school shootings in recent memories so very interesting case study to watch. >> governor rendell, you have to stick around. you're on the clock. coming up, the irs is under fire for use taxpayer dollars to create this. >> the starship enterprise wise is to seek out tax reforms and bold we go where no government employee has gone before. >> a "star trek" training into training irs workers. kelly o'donnell will explain that next on "morning joe." ♪

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♪ welcome back to "morning joe." we come in on shatner for a reason. the irs is facing criticism from

congress after a taxpayer funding employee training video that looks suspiciously like a "star trek" skit went public. kelly o'donnell is live from washington to give us more on this story. >> reporter: covering politics many times i've wanted to do the old vulcan sign. this time i get to. a congressional committee is having oversight to see how the government is spending money and came by this "star trek" parody intended to be for training but when they looked at it carefully they didn't find any training value in it. >> boldly go hollywood. ♪ >> reporter: the irs spent about $60,000. >> captain's log. >> reporter: making two videos including this elaborate "star trek" parody. >> sorry about the uniforms, captain. the dry cleaner gave me the wrong uniform. >> how do you get the heck out of here?

>> driving the engine as fast as we can. >> reporter: and dr. spock. they aren't actors. they are the tax men. >> back in russian, i dreamed someday i would be rich and famous. >> me too. that's why i became a public servant. >> reporter: the irs says the video was made for 2010 employee conference. >> you know me. >> that's right, sir. pennies on the dollar. >> reporter: oo house oversight committee demanded the video turned over and explain how much was spent. they told the irs the "star trek" video did not contain meaningful trade content. critics call the video expensive silliness. >> the american people who see this will be dismayed and disappointed and say i know those guys are wasting my money. >> reporter: the irs responded saying, in part, there is no mistaking this video do not reflect the best stewardship of

resources and a video of this type would not be made today. they also made a gilligan's island spoof and actually the committee find that did have training value but not yet made that public. irs says making a lot of these videos is actually saving the taxpayer money because it's a way to get occasieducation out public or their own employees and have a studio they make these productions all the time. one has more than 4 million hits. they found this one doesn't have enough training but it is a memorable hit. >> did you just say the irs have their own studio? >> they have a production studio and make videos for how to get your tax refund back or how to file under these circumstances or those circumstances. they put those videos on youtube

and use them internally for training and conferences and that sort of thing. yes, there is work to be found there. >> the way they deal with this, they should watch space balls. >> basically, that video cost 60 grand. what about that? >> for that and the "gilligan's island" the two cost 60,000. maybe they could do "the brady bunch." and get a lesson about your dependent deductions or something. >> kelly, we could get awe job in that irs studio! >> kelly o'donnell, thanks. >> you bet. >> mark sanford faces another test next week in a bid for a come back. more "morning joe" in just a moment. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is bob,

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welcome back to "morning joe." 7:42 in the morning here in new york city. up in the big city with us now is republican representative from south carolina, nick mulvaney. florida gulf coast undid you as so many. >> a tough to be a hoya fan this weekend. i'm glad florida gulf coast won and redeemed the loss. >> want to ask him about the outlet mall? >> florida gulf coast university is half a mile from one of the best outlet store sections i've been in. >> the best outlet store is in gaffney, north carolina and not

ft. myers, florida. >> there it is. >> there is a nike store there? >> there. and brooks brothers store, bowe's store. >> if you do a lot of this online, today? did you know that? >> nothing like being there. >> this is why people tune into "morning joe" every morning. >> news you can use! >> while we are talking, can i throw in tanger outlets in new york? we have business to get to. you signed a letter cosigning essentially part of the plan put forward by senator rand paul. you say immigration reform will not occur until conservative republicans become part of the solution. what does that mean to you exactly? >> i think it's fair. i think a couple of things in washington that it's incumbent upon republicans to lead on, defense is one of them.

reforming defense spending is one of them. the previous time i was on here was with barney frank. immigration is another and entitlement reform i think upon the democrats to take a leading role in that as folks say. if we start on entitlements, folks try to make us look heartless and democrats start on defense we try to make them good weak. i think it is incumbent upon us to begin the conversations. i was impressed that rand had the fortitude to take a step on that and one of the reasons we wrote the letter. >> put aside senator paul's plan what would a good package look like to you? >> the thing i'm hearing in washington now that makes me somewhat optimistic at arriving at some type of agreement on immigration it's around three general areas. number one, border security. possibly a trigger before anything else is happen and rand talked about that. fixing legal immigration as well allowing more people to come here legally and allowing people

to work our farms and hotel industries and so forth. dealing with the 11 million people who are here already. for the last several years it seems like every time we talk about immigration we focus on the 11 million people who are here. and i'm hearing now a different discussion which is sort of a more universal approach to immigration and i think that is encouraging. >> what do you do in congress about -- you mentioned workers coming here to work in south carolina and the midwest, new england, migrant workers. what do we do about that? >> make it easier to do. illegal immigration in terms of having a bunch of folks here in undocumented fashion is not a big deal where i come from. my farmers right now cannot get the people to work. small businesses are going out of bounds because of the bureaucracy involved in getting legal workers in this country and part of the things that don't get discussed often when we talk about immigration.

>> how many legal migrant workers are we talking about? >> i don't know what we need in south carolina. my point is you need them in a certain period of time. you need them for now to pick the peach crop in july but if it takes you eight months to get the paper work finished, they are not here in time to pick that particular crop. so in that sense, the agriculture business is a very seasonal, very timely business and you could drive up and down the roads in south carolina now and see the packing facilities that have closed because we weren't able to get folks to come and work to pick those crops. >> another issue that doesn't get discussed a lot in the immigration conversation and that is the nonseasonal workers. the high tech, high skills. when you look at 52% of silicon valley companies run by immigrants and 25% of u.s. patents are from immigrants. where does that factor into the conversation? the business communities so heavily involved in that where does that factor into this? >> critical. talk about border security and

fixing legal immigration and that is a big piece of it because you're right. we need to figure out a way to encourage the entrepreneurs to come here. we are talking about beyond build the fence and deport people. i think is there a debate and discussion now that is encouraging. >> in the 1990s i worked for a republican senator who lost his re-election in part because he took on the issue of immigration reform and got challenged from the right. the proliferation of these groups like the senate for immigration studies, numbers usa sdirveed to make a case against him and immigration reform. how vibrant are those groups today in the republican caucus and how much purchase do they have and are they still successful at masquerading?

our big criticism of the '90s they weren't conservative groups. they were in population control and big environmentalists and masqueraded themselves as conservatives to go at the right and make it unpalpable for republicans to become progressive on immigration reform. >> i look beyond that and look more to the grassroots. you know, we do town hall meetings. i spoke to a couple of hundred people when i go home every single week and i could have this conversation now about a systemic immigration reform and nobody throws anything at me. i think the folks back home are ready for this discussion. it's something that the temperature of the rhetoric has come down dramatically the blast couple of months and last couple of years. >> governor rendell, he is on a bipartisan task force on immigration and want to bring him in on this. when you work on this question

of immigration reform where do you find the most agreement on the two sides? >> i think everyone agrees there has to be stepped-up border security. what would you want in a bill that is not being done now on border security and if that is going to happen first what are the triggers that would allow us to say we have done border security now let's do the other things? secondly, the other question is, what are we going to look like in the future? will we get a chance, and i think this is part of senator paul's proposal from earlier this week, to look at it every single year. to look at whether or not the

border is secure every year on an ongoing basis. that's part of his trust/verify approach. and i think that actually has some legs. it offers the conservatives the ability to say look, we're not going to make the same mistake reagan made 30 years ago, something that comes down in the future and never get the border security. so we've got this constant relationship between making sure the borders are secure, be between the real border and the virtual border and the forms that are tied. >> e-verification is improving every year, the technology. i think we're going to be able to soon reach e-verification. that means electronically we can verify who is legal, who is not, whose visa is up, whose visa isn't. but on border security itself, you hear that as part of the rhetoric. what is it we can do that we're not doing? >> well, again, the 40 -- half of the problem is folks who come here legally and stay -- and we don't track -- >> i agree. and we can track them with

e-verification. but on border security, i hear from conservatives all of the time, what is it we can do that we're not doing? >> governor, again, i'm not trying to dodge your question. you say we can do it with e-verification. if we should we could do it now. we're not doing it. >> i agree. >> if you want to have a discussion about the details of what part of the border physically is covered with a fence and electronically, i don't think we're ready to have that discussion. >> before we let you go, congressman, a fascinating race happening in south carolina. former governor mark sanford and curtis bostic in a runoff for the republican nomination next week and the general election between steven colbert's system in may. are we ready to welcome back mark sanford? >> sure. i think mark did better than some of us expected in the primary. we had heard that maybe he would get place in the upper 20s or lower 30s in terms of vote percentage. did better than that, someplace in the high 30s which is a

pretty good number. so i think it's going to be a very, very close race. running against a sitting county councilman so it's going to be a close race. i don't think the race is in play, despite the fact the democrat is fairly high profile, a district mitt romney won by 20 points. >> where do you think you're going to place in your fantasy baseball league? >> fantasy baseball first, brackets last, once you put georgetown in the national championship -- i'm ready for baseball season to start. >> barnicle, two questions. shopping malls, fantasy baseball. >> whoa, whoa. >> this morning. outlet malls. >> excuse me. >> yeah. outlet malls. >> and you say gaffaney is where it's at. >> no question. the mall in gaffaney. >> congressman mulvaney, good to have you here, taking on a wide range of questions. still ahead, michael hainey joins us for the style bible. we'll see if barnicle's white socks with dress pants made the cut. you're watching "morning joe"

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coming up next, wayne lapierre of the nra says michael bloomberg is, quote, saying

insane things in his push on gun legislation. we'll play the clips and discuss the sanity of both sides. reverend al sharpton rejoins us when "morning joe" returns. [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy? then you'll love lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love. lactaid®. for 25 years, easy to digest. easy to love. these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. [ man ] excuse me miss. [ gasps ] this fiber one 90 calorie brownie has all the deliciousness you desire. the brownie of your dreams is now deliciously real.

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we don't take ourselves too seriously. we have a lot of guys on our team that are characters. knowing who we are, hopefully by now learning those initials. >> good morning. it's 8:00 here on the east

coast, 5:00 a.m. as you wake up out west. this is a live look at new york city back with us on-set, mike barnicle, mark halperin, dan senior, the reverend al sharpton and kelly o'donnell. a lot of news to talk about, but that basketball team, florida gulf coast state university, andy enfield, the coach there, great story. >> it is great. >> the first 15 seed in the history of the ncaa tournament to advance to the sweet 16, and playing completely, mike, without fear against georgetown and san diego state. they look like the favorite in both games, the way they played. >> you know what's great about it, andy enfield clearly is a coach who is a good coach, obviously. but he doesn't take himself too seriously. the team is playing very light. i mean, under very little pressure. they're never expected to be there. he's not overcoaching them. he's an engaging guy. apparently from everything you read, he's got a story for every game, every situation. that has very little to do with

basketball. >> right. >> terrific stuff. >> yeah, he played basketball at johns hopkins, went into the business world, had a lot of success there. then got himself into coaching and then started this little school that wasn't eligible for postseason play in division 1 until about a year-and-a-half ago. >> school is about five miles from the red sox ballpark in ft. myers. >> which is really how you know it. >> i go past it every day on the way to the ballpark. it's a huge, sprawling, beautiful campus on the bonita springs/ft. myers line, next to an outlet place where they have every outlet store you can think. >> that's where you go for training, training by the outlet mall. and then you see the university. >> baseball state for the discount socks. >> mike always takes a layered part of the story. >> much more than you need to know. we begin with the country's ongoing debate over gun safety. harry reid will bring the senate's proposals to the floor after congress's easter recess, which according to reid, which

will include bans on assault weapons. optimistic about the vote during an appearance on "meet the press." >> we are going to have a vote for sure on assault weapons and we're going to have a vote on background checks. and if we were to get background checks only, it wouldn't be as good as if we got both. but we demanded a plan and then we demanded a vote. we've got the plan, we're going to get the vote. >> mayor bloomberg also announced the new $12 million television ad campaign that will challenge senator in 13 states from arizona to pennsylvania to back gun control legislation. >> for me, guns are for hunting and protecting my family. i believe in the second amendment, and i'll fight to protect it. but with rights come responsibilities. that's why i support comprehensive background checks. so criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can't buy guns. that protects my rights, and my family. >> nra vice president wayne

la-petitioner also appearing on "meet the press" monday was blunt, saying american values are not for sale. >> he's going to find out this is a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. and he can't spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the american public. they don't want him in their restaurants, they don't want him in their homes, they don't want him telling him what food to eat. sure don't want him telling him what self defense firearms to own. and he can't buy america. he's so reckless in his terms of his comments on this whole gun issue. >> we have people all over, millions of people, sending us 5, 10, 15, $20 checks saying stand up to this guy that says we can only have three bullets, which is what he said. stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things, like the nra wants firearms with nukes on them. it's insane. >> after weeks of bipartisan negotiation between senators chuck schumer and tom coburn

failed to advance and now appears senator john mccain is emerging as a critical player in talks to expand background checks for private firearm sales. the hill reporting susan collins and dean heller could also sign off on the bill after democrats included several modifications aimed at attracting support from the right. a recent quinnipiac poll finds nearly 90% of the american public is in favor of universal background checks. reverend, let's go to you on this, first of all. where do we net out? senator -- majority leader reid said essentially we're not going to include the assault weapons ban in our greater package, because we fear it will take down the whole thing. we want to get what we can get and he doesn't believe an assault weapons ban will get through. are you happy with what might get through? >> well, i would have kept the assault weapons ban in. >> you would. >> i disagree with senator reid. i think he should have made them vote on the record. but having said that, they can vote in a side piece of legislation. i think that it is insane for

the nra's lapierre to talk about bloomberg buying the values of the country, when the polls say almost 90% of the country already supports universal background checks. i think what he's really concerned about is for the first time, you have people on the other side that are well-funded, the gun manufacturers have been funding the nra and now you have an even playing field, and he just seems rattled and doesn't know what to do. because there's no poll, including the nra's internal polling, i'm sure, that says the american people don't want universal background checks. so he's lost that one. and i think the fact that they also are targeting bloomberg, who i don't agree with on local issues, but he's right on this. targeting some of the senators and putting ads there, it evens the playing field in this argument. and i think it will pass, and i think it's a good thing. >> and it's worth pointing out, as long as we're talking about money, the nra spent $32 million

in political money in 2012. >> and a lot of it from gun manufacturers, not 5 and $10 from grandma nanny that wants more than three bullets. that's a lot of hogwash. >> kelly o'donnell, as you look at the votes down there in washington, obviously majority leader reid counted some votes himself, what is likely to pass here? if we're talking about the bill first and then some amendments to it, as well? >> the amendments are really key, because that's where you're going to get that chance for people to be on the record with an assault weapons ban. but in counting the votes, harry reid knows that if we're part of the essential bill, being in much bigger trouble. so what people are talking a lot about are the trafficking elements of this, where we make it a federal crime to move guns unlawfully across state lines, changing some of what's on the books there, that's something that people will talk about as a success if that gets through. so much focus on background checks. one of the big questions from people who are still hesitant about that is what would it actually do in a practical sense if you've got a

neighbor-to-neighbor selling a weapon or a family member to another, how would that work in practical terms. so the idea of background checks has pretty broad support. it always gets down to the specifics. and you really do have to watch the senate democrats who are up for re-election in 2014, many from states that are red states, and the pressure is greatest on them. they're away for two weeks now from washington back home, and there will be pressure on them. they'll hear from their constituents about what to do with this. and so they will be key in trying to put something together, especially if you don't have much support, if any, among republicans. you need those democrats to get it through. >> hey, mark, give me a sense of harry reid's role in this. he wants to keep that title, senate majority leader, navigating through these ice flows. >> well, it's strange, because public opinion, as kelly said, is already on the side of michael bloomberg, on the side of those who would like to see a large package, including a

pretty vigorous background check provision. so it's not clear to me what more proponents can do to put pressure either on individual senators or on senator reid. senator reid has a long history with the nra. they did not support him in his re-election race. and i think he's looking for a path that not only protects his own views on gun control, not only tries to accommodate the white house, but tries to protect the majority. and i think he's very sensitive, not just on guns, but on a range of issues, to all of these democrats who are in red states where dan's colleagues and friends who have -- winning back the senate majority as really the biggest political project they have going now. >> your colleagues and your friends -- >> my colleagues and friends -- no, not just on gun control. if you look at states like louisiana, mary landrieu, mark prior in arkansas, kay kagan, begich, watch for immigration reform. watch where senators come down on immigration reform.

they are under a lot of pressure to buck their own party in pursuit of keeping the democratic senate majority, saving their seats and keeping the democratic senate majority. and senator reid is not only looking out for his own relationship with the nra and gun rights community in nevada but also what he needs to do to protect these candidates, these senators up for re-election so that he can preserve the senate majority. so it's not just his own personal political situation he's protecting. he's also making the case, i suspect, to his friends and allies. if we want to keep the senate majority, we cannot put a lot of pressure on our own, particularly this segment of senators who are for re-election in red states. >> reverend sharpton, how much concern is there among gun control advocates this newtown moment, if you want to call it, will pass without major gun legislation in the wake of that incident, so many people thought this is the time. this is the one that's going to change everything. and it appears now, unless something changes on a vote with the assault weapons ban, that even newtown won't be able to get america to a weapons ban. >> no, there's a lot of concern.

when you look at newtown, when you look at the deaths in chicago alone, if we can't do it at this moment, there's a real sense that it won't be done. so it sees the time right now, and get as much done in terms of gun control and many of us have been advocating for years right now, while the attention is there and while you have such an overwhelming public support. the only thing that i would hasten to add to what was said, i would want senator reid to be very careful on the changing demographics in some of those states, because we learned from last year's elections that a decade ago, two decades ago, is no longer what some of those states in terms of the electorate has become. and i think you could galvanize your vote if you took some stands in some of those states. and i agree with you on louisiana. but some of those states are beginning to shift, and some of the democrats that are using

caution may put themselves in danger of their own base if they're too cautious. >> i would just add, i think you're right if you want to advance the gun -- the gun control legislation that's being advocated to welcome mayor bloomberg's funding. i'm still not persuaded. i have a lot of respect for him on a number of issues, including local issues. i'm not sure he's the right spokesman for this. he is galvanizing the second amendment rights community in a number of these red states. the fact that he has put himself as the face of this, a big city, blue state mayor, is telling these senators in red states what they should be doing, and their constituents in those states, i think is not constructive. >> well, i'm not saying he's the right spokesman. i just agree with him on this issue. though, like said, i disagree on some local. but he's providing the right microphone. because he's evening the playing field. it's sometimes hard to tell a guy to provide the microphone and not be the spokesman in the mic you're paying for. but he has certainly provided a

microphone that gun control advocates have not had in the past. i agree with you, we could have different spokespeople. >> like who, though? let's get down to it. mike bloomberg, mayor of new york city. there's a level of anti-semitism in this thing, directed toward bloomberg. >> no doubt about it. >> it's out there. >> i don't think it's anti-semitism. i think it's the perception of big city, urban elites, wealthy, you know, elites telling the rest of the little people how to live their lives. >> but it's not a big city jewish man from another ethnic group in some parts, i think it would be different. i agree with you, mike. but i think at the end of the day, if we had, like, a law enforcement person, or former law enforcement person or someone like that as the national face of it, it would make it easier in some of the areas or some of the states you're talking about. but i don't think -- >> guys, remember, you have gabby giffords and mark kelly, also participating. and they give a different perspective as gun owners and

with personal life experience. they come at it a different way. they've got their own group that doesn't have the funding that bloomberg has, but they have that personal touch. there are very prominent law enforcement the people who have come forward. but i get the point about the big city divide. that's one thing we hear a lot from members who live in rural states, states with deep roots in the hunting and sportsman community. they just don't see the world in the same way that big city mayor might. and they've got to really deal with the issue that there are many gun owners in their states who say, hey, i'm a responsible person. i wouldn't do those things. don't restrict rights that they believe are their own. it gets very, very personal. and when you're looking at these states like a mark prior of arkansas, the last election he saw his colleague, a democrat, lincoln, go down to defeat. it's real for him. he has come out in favor of a very narrow piece, which would make certain that if somebody has been found in a courtroom to be mentally ill, to have been adjudicated in that way, to make

sure that the reporting is better than it is today. so he's found a narrow slice of it, where he can support it with some others who are in both parties to try to be on the side of doing something that they think will make things better, but also very clearly, and mark prior says, can't do assault weapons ban, isn't supporting of weapons, ammunition limitations, those kinds of things. this is really hard. you've also got some of the same republicans -- i'm sorry, same democrats we're talking about, who voted against the budget the other night. so they are really at the center of these issues, which will divide not only the race going forward, but some of these big social issues we have been talking about. immigration, guns, and what to do about the deficit. >> don't forget, there's two other really prominent spokespeople for this effort, the president and vice president and they have been quiet. they both care about it. i suspect before a senate vote, you will see a big push by the two of them. >> i've got to tell you, the lack of common sense and courage in the united states senate is astounding. we're talking about background checks and reducing magazines

from 30 oh bullets to 10 bullets. it's like unbelievable. >> amazing. >> no one is coming to take your gun. no one is coming to take your gun. >> amazing. it's amazing. when you look at the fact that we're talking about a simple thing like background checks, people are dying every day. a baby killer -- in brunswick, georgia. and we're arguing about background checks? it's almost surreal. it really is. >> still ahead, "gq's" second annual style bible. we're here to preview an issue so big, it needs three covers. and joe nocera who says if congress can pass laws about air bags, why can't it mandate child-proof guns? but first, here is bill karins with a look at the forecast. >> morning, willie. travel nightmare this morning around washington, d.c., all the way up to philadelphia with a lot of snow, and all our friends in the ohio valley in the same ball game. numerous schools delayed and closed from the ohio valley to

the mid atlantic. so far the airports are holding up okay. just hundrone-hour delays in philadelphia. where is the heavy snow? starting to move out of the washington, d.c. area. you had had your heaviest a couple hours ago so the roads will slowly be improving. the heavy snow is now falling in areas of delaware near dover, also southern portions of jersey and we've already picked up around 3 to 6 inches from hagerstown to harrisburg. so southern p.a., especially on 76, not a fun drive. and by the way, some of this will arrive in new york city, but most will actually be melting with it hits the surface, because it's still 38 degrees. so the forecast for today, the snow just about over with indianapolis to columbus. most already on the ground. pittsburgh maybe an additional inch or two. d.c., looks like maybe another inch at most. mostly on the grass. new york city, not calling for much, and philadelphia a slushy 1 to 2 inches. and thankfully, the storm will be gone by later on tonight. so, again, the temperatures are warm enough that the roads should be okay for the drive home for just about everyone. and nothing on the way. still very cold today from

chicago to kansas city with a few snow flurries. but as we go throughout this week and as easter approaches, it will slowly begin to warm up around the country. we'll start that warm-up in the deep south and as we go into tuesday, you'll notice maybe areas like texas will start getting to the 60s. still a little chilly in a few spots but even new york city to d.c. tuesday, temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s. whatever snow today should be gone by tomorrow. we leave you with a shot of hopefully the last snow of the season. lawn at the white house with an inch or two on it right now. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually

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♪ welcome back to "morning joe." mark halperin, ed rendell and lee gallagher back with us and joining the table, columnist from "ll bean" -- oh, i'm sorry, from the "new york times," joe nocera? >> ll bean in drexler is going to be furious. >> he borrowed it from rick santorum. >> saturday's column, his latest piece entitled "saving children from guns." why can't we childproof guns? in a time of deep sensitivity to the welfare of children, why can't we come up with a technology that would keep a gun from going off when it is being held by a child, or for that matter, by a thief, using a stolen gun, or an angry teenager, plotting to use his parents' arsenal to wreak havoc in a mall?

it turns out, why is this not a surprise, that such technologies already exist. congress once cared enough about the safety of its citizens to pass laws about air bags and child-proof bottles will soon find out if it still cares enough about the safety of its constituents to make child-proofing guns the law of the land. it should. we were talking earlier, joe nocera on a segment about guns, about the lack of common sense and courage in places like the united states' senate, and certainly the house of representatives. but when it comes to something like -- >> this is a no-brainer. there's -- there are two essential technologies. one is a radio frequency technology, where -- which is my opinion, fear technology. because you have to have some kind of chip embedded in a ring or watch, but there is a german company about to sell this technology, a pistol with this technology, where it connects to a watch or something like that, that the wearer has.

now, you can sort of see how that might not work 100%. certainly would cut down on child accidents. and that's what i've been thinking about. the second technology is a biometric technology. we use biometrics all of the time. all of the time. and these would be a technology where it recognizes the hand of the owner, and if the owner has the gun, it shoots. and if anybody else has the gun, it doesn't shoot. now, i've got to tell you -- since i wrote that column -- and as always happens when i write a gun column, i get inundated with second amendment absolutists about how this infringes on their rights, and how all this stuff doesn't work well, and i want to be able to instantly use my gun, and it's bologna. there's no infringement here. >> go ahead. >> why did this take so long? we're in the middle of this technological boom in silicon valley. this has been in james bond and

elsewhere. this is logical recently. but the tech world loves especially innovations that have some sort of social benefits. so why is this just now coming? >> well, as it turns out, that it's taken a while to develop this technology. people have been working on it for a decade or more. ten years ago, it probably wasn't ready for prime time. the new jersey institute of technology has been working on the biometric stuff for about a decade. and there actually is a law in new jersey which is on the books that says if a childproof gun is on the market, if it exists on the market and is being sold in new jersey, new jersey -- i think it's three years -- has three years -- within three years, every gun sold in new jersey has to use this technology. that's on the books. california is about to pass -- or has recently passed something very similar. now these technologies are ready for prime time.

and so -- and the sandy hook promise group, which is the -- not necessarily the parents of the deceased, but a group of concerned citizens that are trying to use newtown to affect change, they have connected with silicon valley. and they had a press conference, just like a week and a half ago, where they talked about innovation. and there's a guy in silicon valley who is connecting with the guy at the new jersey institute of technology, and they're trying to figure out a way, you know, to make this technology commercially available. and that's the next step. >> and the interesting thing is, number one, with the palm print, you don't have to have the watch, so it's available in the middle of the night, you don't have to worry about it. two, it is instantaneous. and three, in addition to all of the things you said it would prevent, snow, it prevents straw purchasers. in philadelphia, 40% of crime guns come from straw purchasers. if this technology exists, you can go buy semi automatic

pistols, but they have to be your palm print. >> two questions. maybe you can answer them, maybe you can't. one is, i buy the gun. and so, you know, technologically, bio, whatever, it's fitted to my hand. my wife also likes guns. >> it can be fitted to her hand too. >> okay. does it add to the cost of the weapon? >> yes. absolutely. air bags added to the cost of cars. it absolutely adds to the cost. so what? >> what would you do with all the guns in the country right now? >> not a whole lot you can do about that. >> we found looking at the crime guns, mark, you'll be surprised to hear this, 80%, maybe more, purchased within three years. >> is there any risk that it makes us maybe more careless? the way people say you drive crazier when you have your seatbelt on. >> that's not what's happening -- if you look at the experience of drivers, yes, a lot of people speed and 75 is sort of the default speed limit on the highway in the east

coast. but the cultural shift to seatbelts and air bags also brought a cultural shift about auto safety. there is less risk-taking, especially once you're out of your teens. on the highway than there used to be. you know, we childproof aspirin. that hasn't made people more careless with the aspirin bottles. there's no way -- there's no down side to this technology. and there's no down side for gun owners. i mean, one of the reasons i'm passionate about this is because i've been writing a daily gun blog since late january. just -- all it does is aggravate stories oh. all we do is go to google and we write "shooting." and we come up with the previous day's shootings. and we publish maybe ten of them. every single day, every day, there's a 5-year-old who finds a shotgun under the bed and shoots his younger brother.

all right? the thing about the ramifications of that -- and one brother dead, the parents have to be guilty for the rest of their life. how did the 5-year-old think about this when he's 30? and by the way, part of the problem here, if that's not criminal endangerment, i don't know what is. but nobody is prosecuted because everybody feels so bad about this family tragedy. >> and think about newtown. the mother, knowing her son was a little angry and whatever, buys the guns, palm prints to her hand, not to his, he can steal the gun but not fire it. >> you would -- i can't think of anything that would have a larger impact -- this would be much, much bigger than an assault weapon ban. much bigger. >> yeah, i agree. >> and so congressman tyranny, john tyranny of massachusetts is about to introduce a bill. the silicon valley guys, the market will solve this, once people see this technology is

out there, they'll raise to it. they won't raise to it. the gun -- what's the right word? the gun advocates, the gun absolutists, basically believe that the second amendment not only allows them to shoot a gun, but basically allows anybody that they know or have ever known to shoot that same gun. i personally don't think that would hold up. but you need a law. you need legislation. >> and we need you to stick around for another segment, okay? does your sweater vest have to be back? >> no, i've got a one-hour limit. >> all right. so stick around. joe nocera will come back. and we'll take a look at what president obama's march madness picks may tell us about his presidency. yes, indeed. so wait for that. also ahead, now annihilation smaller than connecticut is threatening to cause huge problems across europe. brian shactman, the shack-man rejoins the table with the latest on the banking crisis. keep it here on "morning joe." [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy?

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stones here on morning drive time. that's not what we're doing, is it? >> morning zoo. >> business before the bell, brian shactman. we'll get to cyprus in a moment but joe nocera is still here and there is a piece on bloomberg. have you read it? >> have i ever. >> it is basically -- i'll give

an outline of what it is. historically, written on bloomberg -- historically, about the president's ncaa bracket, his picks. historically, obama has done none of these things in terms of picking teams. he has filled out his bracket a lot like he has governed. dispassionately and with a clear aversion to risk. >> it's a great insight. jonathan maler is a columnist at bloomberg, a friend of mine, i've been touting this piece because i love it so much. one of the points he makes is, well, in the second term, maybe obama would take more risk. but his bracket is, no. he's got indiana winning the whole thing and actually says on the air, says, well, i've got louisville going to the final four. i guess that's not a surprise. they -- jonathan points out that he didn't even pick his alma mater, harvard. >> well, who did? >> right. well, it is true that all the analysts were saying that new mexico is the real deal and then

go deep in the tournament, right, and harvard knocked them off. so, yeah. it's a wonderful piece. and it sort of -- you know obama by his bracket. and it's really true. >> he wants to be right. >> yeah. >> doesn't want to be sentimental. he wants to be right. >> yeah, well, you know, one thing about the ncaa, if you don't take the risk, you don't win the pool. very true. some might say the same is true when you're the president. >> bloomberg today, jonathan maller's piece, obama's ncaa bracket, hope but no change. same is going on with cyprus. >> right. i mean this one -- >> there is a change. there's a deal. >> there is a deal. and they are not going to tax deposits up to 100,000 euros, which would have been the equivalent of confiscation of property. these were insured deposits. and the problem is now is that they're going to do levies on deposits above $100,000 and a lot of these are russians. and the real interesting thing,

how is russia going to react to some of their wealthiest getting taxed like this? and there is going to be an east versus west tension and it will be interesting to see what happens. >> don't you think there is a certain what goes around comes around aspect here? russia, since putin, has spent a lot of time violating the rule of law, ignoring the rule of law, sticking it to its own citizens, and corporations when they want some oil or something. and now some type russ is cyprus is saying we're going to play by those same rules. rule you law doesn't exist here either. i don't have a hard time sympathizing with the predicament of russia here. >> me neither. i sympathize with our international corporations who have bank accounts in cyprus who are now just -- their hands are tied. so this does bring up a lot of risks for i think other countries in the eu, like spain, what does this mean. cyprus has its own situation. but also for the global banking community. >> their banking system was eight times the size of their

economy so had to change. >> joe nocera, thanks for joining us. as far as cyprus goes, we could have warren buffett buy it. >> we probably could. next up, the author of a terrific book. "gq's" michael hainey joins us for the second annual style bible. who says you can't wear a neon shirt under a blazer? i do it all the time. "morning joe" will be right back. morning, brian!

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bible issue, three covers featuring three superstars. jason bateman, bruno mars and mark halperin. no, i'm sorry. >> i'm on the fourth cover. >> exactly. >> and jimmy fallon. this magazine is huge. this is very -- >> it's a healthy magazine. you guys are always like what's happening to prince? one of our biggest issues of the year. >> what's the deal -- >> define the table of contents. >> i know. i was looking for it. same thing. >> it starts way inside. >> what is in the table of contents? >> great stories this month, a fantastic piece which i really love about this -- you can now be kidnapped. you can pay a company to kidnap you. $500. i think maybe that's where joe and mika are today, i'm not sure. but they -- if you want the visceral thrill of being kidnapped, pay $500. >> wait. >> i'm serious. >> so not just -- >> visceral thrill? >> you can actually have the experience? >> yes. and you don't know when it's going to happen. they give you a window of time. and then you fill out a form

beforehand, and they ask you, do you have any phobias, would you like to be waterboarded? it and they -- they kidnap you for four hours. >> "gq" -- >> only in america. >> this piece about being kidnapped and paying $500 to be kidnapped appears in "gq" magazine. >> yes, sir. >> where do they take you to, a polo shop? >> they take this guy to a basement in detroit. >> if -- >> you probably were in this basement. >> if you tell them your phobias do they prey on them or spare you? >> they mess around with you. >> does that relate at all to this story, the gentleman's guide to a one-night stand? >> i like how she ties that in. >> what can you tell us about that? >> that's a woman's guide to -- you know, i thought i was going to get a break today. but i've got it over here now. >> this is service journalism at its finest. tell us. >> you know, look, it's from -- written from a woman's point of view. and her -- look, this happens.

and here's certain ways to conduct yourself, one of which is stay the night. >> all right. there's so much in this issue. >> yes, sir. >> can't discuss it all, even if we blow out the rest of the program, style guide, one piece of advice shall don't be afraid to wear flowers. >> yes. >> come on. >> no, this is true. this is absolutely true. >> how so? how should we be wearing our flowers? >> russell westbrook, man in the nba, we it a story with him, he talks about he loves the printed flower shirt. and then ties in with another great story, the nba style guide, look at that. lebron, d. wade. >> don't see any flowers. >> all the styling right now coming from -- fantastic piece about these guys having their own stylists. >> what about the flowers? >> the flowers -- >> actual flowers or floral prints? >> floral prints. >> tommy bahama shirts. >> for you, mike. no, it's more of -- we call a micro floral print. >> generally speaking -- >> first of all -- save it.

>> i'll say to. >> voice of reason. >> is it still fashionable to wear glasses? i assume it still is. but for fashion, and i'm thinking maybe channelling barnicle a little bit. what do you do when someone doesn't care about fashion? >> we all care about fashion. >> hurtful. >> what do you mean? >> look at these -- we all care about fashion, everyone cares about fashion. >> no, but there's some people truly, i know a lot of men on television who don't have that sense and some do. there is this wide gap of men that truly don't -- >> that's why we created the april gq style bible, because we with our high priests here, pros they will advertising and teaching how to do it. >> we can't do it. we need somebody to lead us to -- >> "gq" will do that for you. >> jason bateman looks great. >> and look at this guy -- >> jimmy fallon. >> he works in this building. >> i've heard of him. >> you also have a great list of a book list of the top books to

read, and one of my all-time favorite books is number one. happy to see that, "the corrections". >> 21 best books of the century. >> i would like to find that list. >> here it is, look, 123, 124. and, you know, with -- >> barnicle's books are in there. >> dennis johnson, "tree of smoke". >> that was a great book. great book. after visiting friends is a great book as well. >> see? thank you. thank you. >> and i went to mitchell's clothing store in west port, connecticut two weeks ago. my wife took me there. wait until you see how i'm going to be duded out easter sunday. >> flowers? >> coat, prohibits and everything. >> i want a picture. >> i'll send it to you. you won't believe it either. michael hanihainey, michael's terrific book as i just said, "after visiting friends," a must-read.

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stones here at the morning zoo. time for one last look at the morning papers today. "denver post," syrian rebels get an increase in support in the form of weapons and equipment from turkey and other arab countries, coordinated in it part by the cia. part of a secret airlift program that began modestly nearly a year ago but has since mushroomed. american intelligence operatives have helped arabic countries shop for weapons and helped rebels inside syria get them as they are delivered. former president musharraf returned to pakistan yesterday emerging from self exile, greeted at the airport by hundreds of supporters. the former president faces criminal charges, including allegations he failed to provide enough security to prevent the assassination of former prime minister bhutto. >> boris berezovsky found dead, locked inside his bathroom outside london.

british police say he was not killed by any chemical agent or radioactive material, but still classify his death as unexplained. berezovsky left russia in 2000 after president vladimir putin was poised to bring criminal charges against him. holy week officially under way and pope francis captivated crowds during his first palm sunday mass. the pope urged joy to the 250,000 people on hand, many of them carrying ol oh itch brancheses known for his messages of humility, the pope will go to a youth jail in rome thursday to wash the feet of young inmates. >> that's a huge, huge story. the pope going to the juvenile jail on thursday in rome. in the philadelphia inquirer, chris christie will announce later today plans to put the camden school district under state control and appoint a new superintendent and leadership team who will be tasked with turning around new jersey's lowest-performing school districts. and to protect the u.s. from

cyber attacks, intelligence agencies are looking to recruit younger agents. the department of homeland security estimates they will need up to 600 new recruits and looking at high school students to fill the void. and in trying to do something from every paper in north america, we're going to the "newark star ledger" powerball officials in new jersey say there is one lucky winning ticket from saturday night's $338 million drawing, reportedly sold in new jersey. but so far, no one has claimed the prize. the jackpot is said to be the fourth-largest in powerball history. if the winner opts to take the lump sum payout, he or she will take home a check for $221 million. not a bad day. >> she or they. >> yeah, it's probably a group. at work. the way you and i did our powerball ticket, and our oh numbers were -- look at our numbers. >> they're right down there. >> up next, what, if anything, did we learn today?

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